Racing Into Romance
by MWolfL
Summary: A series of oneshots that features some of the Sugar Rush Racers ending up together, plus a couple about two Racers developing a friendship. Pairings involved: GloydXJubileena, SwizzleXMinty, and RancisXTaffyta.
1. GloydXJubileena Version 1

A.N. There are going to be two versions of GloydXJubileena (pairing) and two versions of Gloyd/Crumbelina (friendship). Two were my ideas, one was CartoonCaster21's idea, and the last one was flowerpower71's idea. Along with those will be two other pairing stories, both my ideas.

It was during the year that Ralph and Vanellope were dating. Vanellope wasn't the only one in Sugar Rush who was into dating however, there were other Racers who also wanted to date someone. For Jubileena it was Gloyd, and for Gloyd it was...Crumbelina. That's right, Crumbelina. Gloyd had gotten a crush on her, one of those 'stuck on prettiest girl' type crushes. Oh sure all the female Racers were beautiful in their own way, but Crumbelina had that high-fashion type of beauty. You know, the kind you'd see in the rich popular girls in high school. Especially in the leader of the group.

In Jubileena's case she was the only one who didn't find Gloyd annoying in any way. Sure he pulled pranks a lot, on everyone in fact, but she was the only one who really laughed them off. This was because she was a bit of a prankster herself, though she wasn't as good as Gloyd was. Because of this she didn't prank others as much - mostly during April Fool's Day really - and was insecure about being with Gloyd. What if he saw her pranks as lame? Afraid of that happening, she decided to confess her feelings to someone who could help her: her twin Citrusella.

"Really?" Citrusella was surprised. "You're in love with Gloyd?"

They were in Citrusella's bedroom, both on her bed, at their house. The house had a cherry and blueberry theme to it due to their dad being cherry themed and their mom being blueberry themed. This was also why they had completely different themes despite being twins (except for the detail that they were both pie themed of course).

"Yeah, I have been for some time." Jubileena nodded.

"Wow...okay I'm not against this or anything but I don't understand." Citrusella set her comic book aside. "Why do you find Gloyd attractive? I mean he's a prankster...not to mention a little immature."

"I know, it's just...underneath his immature prankster side is a fun loving guy who really does care about others." Jubileena explained. "He just doesn't know how to show it besides pranks. You can even tell how much he cares about you through his pranks. Harmless funny ones means he likes you, embarrassing ones means he's mad at you, and harmful ones means he hates you...I think, he never really did a harmful prank on anyone before. Not even Vanellope back when Turbo was in control."

"Yeah, got to give him credit for that." Citrusella had to admit. "So why don't you just go ahead and tell him? Maybe it'd get his mind off Crumbelina."

Yeah, Gloyd's crush on Crumbelina wasn't exactly a secret. And this was due to a problem he had when it came to showing Crumbelina his affection...

"His crush on Crumbelina is one of the reasons why I can't." Jubileena sighed. "What chance do I have against a high-fashion girl like her? The other reason is because...even though I love pranks too mine are pathetic when compared to Gloyd's."

"Don't be silly, real love comes from what's inside a person. Not how they look or what their talents are." Citrusella shook her head. "Look, just ask him to at least hang out as friends, let him get to know you a bit more. After all you do have one advantage over Crumbelina: you actually love him back."

"True...okay, I'll try it." Jubileena decided. "Thanks sis."

"What are siblings for?" Citrusella smiled, picking her comic book back up.

"A lot of good things obviously." Jubileena grinned as she jumped back onto the floor. "I hope I can return the favor someday."

"Not very likely." Citrusella sighed. "Unless Mr. Litwak decides to upgrade and add more guys to the roster. I tell you the boy-girl ratio here stinks."

"Yeah, it does." Jubileena frowned in agreement. "Oh well, nothing that we can do about it now."

"True. Good luck with Gloyd sis." Citrusella then smiled. "Knowing his pranks you might need it." She then chuckled.

"Very funny. I'll see you at dinner at latest." Jubileena smirked back.

"Bye." Citrusella waved as Jubileena left.

Jubileena wandered around Sugar Rush, looking for Gloyd. She then spotted Swizzle heading for the ice cream mountains.

"Hey Swizz." She said. "You seen Gloyd around?"

"Yeah, he ran past me about half-an-hour ago." Swizzle nodded. "He looked really upset about something...anyway, I think he left Sugar Rush and headed into Game Central Station."

"Oh dear...thanks Swizzle!" Jubileena waved as she ran off; she then sighed: "Sounds like one of his 'tokens of affection' to Crumbelina backfired again."

Jubileena headed for Game Central Station and asked around about Gloyd. Finally one of the zombies - apparently another one, it didn't seem to be Cyril - pointed her towards Tapper's. She went inside and sure enough found Gloyd. Luckily Tapper's sold sodas as well as liquor, so kid characters were allowed inside most of the time. They just weren't allowed in late at night when most of the adults hung out.

Anyway, Gloyd looked like a mess. His head was lying on the table with his hat lying nearby. Jubileena also saw lots of empty mugs around him. Tapper approached her.

"Well hello, you're Jubileena from Sugar Rush right?" He said. "What can I get you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Jubileena shook her head slightly. "I just came here to check on Gloyd."

"Ah yes, him." Tapper turned to Gloyd and now shook his head, but for a different reason. "Poor guy really seems heartbroken, nearly soaked himself in ginger ale. Luckily he cried himself to sleep before he could overdo it. Not that ginger ale is alcoholic, but too much carbonation can make you feel weird."

"I'll see if I can make him feel better." Jubileena headed for Gloyd.

"I hope you do." Tapper agreed.

Jubileena sat down next to Gloyd and gently petted his hair.

"Gloyd? Hey Gloyd, come on wake up." She said gently.

Gloyd winced and slowly opened his eyes.

"Jubileena?' He said tiredly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you, I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out." Jubileena explained. "I think I just got my answer. Crumbelina rejected you again didn't she?"

"Worse, she hates me." Gloyd sniffled. "I tried giving her chocolates but I couldn't keep from putting a rubber spider in the box...she got so mad that she tossed the chocolates in the trash and said that she'll hate pranks forever." He started sobbing again.

"*Shhhhh*." Jubileena said comfortingly as she rubbed his upper back. "There there, just because she'll hate pranks forever doesn't mean that she'll hate you forever. You just have to give her a chance to see your non-pranking side. The side of you that actually does care about your friends pranks or no pranks."

Gloyd stopped sobbing and looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah...maybe you're right...thank you Jubileena." He actually smiled. "You...you always have understood me better than the others..."

"Well...truthfully I like to do a bit of pranking too." Jubileena blushed slightly.

"Really? How come you never told me this before? We could've pranked people together." Gloyd sat up and wiped an eye.

"Because...because my pranks aren't as good as yours." Jubileena hung her head.

"Oh...oh come on I don't care how good they are or how clever they are." Gloyd shook his head. "Making sure they don't hurt others is the most important thing."

Jubileena looked up a bit surprised and smiled.

"Thank you Gloyd...you know, I've never hated you and I never will." Jubileena admitted.

"I'm glad of that." Gloyd smiled. "Maybe I should forget about Crumbelina for now and just hang out with my friends. Speaking of which you, uh, wanted to hang out earlier..."

"I still do...if you want to." Jubileena blushed slightly again.

"I do." Gloyd placed a hand on her shoulder, making her heart skip a beat. "A lot."

Jubileena just smiled.

After Gloyd paid his bill he and Jubileena left Tapper's. Gloyd didn't want to go straight back into Sugar Rush again, so they paused to think of where else they could go. Finally they decided on Fix-It-Felix Jr. They hadn't seen that much of the game before and wanted to see more of where Ralph came from.

They went inside and headed for the lake, just wanting to be by themselves for now. As they hung out Gloyd started to like Jubileena a lot and seemed to forget about Crumbelina.

He didn't realize it himself until about a couple weeks later, when he and Jubileena were pulling a prank on one of the citizens: putting a fake gumdrop with the real ones. When the citizen decided to take a bite it exploded confetti out the top. The citizen was startled but then just chuckled, realizing Gloyd must have set it up.

Gloyd and Jubileena laughed after the citizen left.

"See? Your pranks aren't as bad as you thought." Gloyd smiled.

"I'm glad of that." Jubileena smiled back.

Gloyd then felt his heart skip a beat. He had never realized before how pretty Jubileena looked when she smiled.

"Jubileena I...uh, thank you. A lot." He said. "For hanging out with me I mean. These past couple weeks have been the most fun I ever had. You know, I think I even got over Crumbelina. I mean I still wish she'd think better of me, but I don't need her for a girlfriend anymore."

"Really?" Jubileena was secretly happy. "Got anyone else in mind?"

"Maybe...if she'll have me." Gloyd blushed slightly.

"Well..." Jubileena didn't know what to say to that at first; she didn't know who he was talking about but she didn't want to lose her chance.

She made her decision.

"To tell you the truth I...uh...think that any girl who can see you as more than an immature prankster is the girl for you." She now blushed. "And whoever she is...I think she's really lucky."

"What if the girl is...you?" Gloyd blushed a little stronger.

Jubileena looked at him with shock and dropped her mouth open.

"Wha-what?" She gasped.

"I know, you probably only see me as a brother or something but-" Gloyd was cut off as Jubileena hugged him; he then became concerned as she seemed to sob. "Are you okay?"

"Okay? Gloyd I...I love you." Jubileena admitted.

Gloyd now dropped his mouth open.

"You do?" He couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I've loved you for years." Jubileena nodded.

"How come you didn't tell me before?" Gloyd asked.

"I didn't think I had a chance because you were stuck on Crumbelina. Plus I thought you wouldn't like my pranks enough to want to be with me. I guess it was a foolish fear but...but I have admired your pranks that much."

Gloyd now felt like an idiot. All those years he wasted...if he hadn't been so stuck on Crumbelina then he and Jubileena would've probably been a couple before now. Vowing not to waste any more time, he hugged her back.

"I don't care about the quality of the pranks, I just care about us being able to have fun doing them." He said.

They stayed like that for quite some time until Jubileena managed to compose herself enough to let go.

"So does this mean that...?" She grinned.

Gloyd smiled.

"That's right, we're a couple." He said.

They just smiled at each other, until they felt a force drawing them closer. They realized what was happening due to fantasies of doing it (though with Gloyd it was with Crumbelina at first) and so just relaxed and let their feelings take over.

Sure enough, they kissed. It was like someone had struck them with a giant joy buzzer. 8-bit hearts appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them. When the kiss ended a bit later they just grinned at each other for a while before deciding to go do their next prank.

Word soon spread around that Gloyd and Jubileena were dating. Crumbelina was relieved, knowing that this would mean that Gloyd would be leaving her alone now. Citrusella was overjoyed, glad that her sister finally got her love. The other Racers were happy for the couple as well, especially Vanellope, Rancis, and Swizzle. Rancis and Swizzle were glad that Gloyd finally found someone who loved him back, and Vanellope's joy was more of an empathy joy. After all being in love herself meant that she knew how happy Gloyd and Jubileena were. And one of her most favorite things was to see her citizens happy.

As for Gloyd's friendship with Crumbelina...well that's another story. Literally, it's the next story in this series. XD


	2. Gloyd-Crumbelina Friendship Version 1

Now we'll get Crumbelina's perspective of the previous story:

Crumbelina had just left her house when she saw a box of chocolates on her doorstep. She looked at it suspiciously...it might be from Gloyd, which would mean a prank, but on the other hand it might be from someone else.

She picked up the box and opened it...and screamed upon seeing a spider in the box. She dropped the box and backed away, and that's when she discovered that it was only a rubber spider.

"Darn it Gloyd!" She yelled, furious; she then picked up the box and dumped it in the trash can outside her home. "I hate pranks! I'll always hate pranks!"

She then went back inside and slammed the door.

The next day she discovered that Gloyd was hanging out with Jubileena. Crumbelina was relieved, hopefully this would mean that Gloyd would leave her alone. She ended up right, Gloyd even seemed to have forgotten about her. Then a couple weeks later when it was revealed that Gloyd and Jubileena were a couple Crumbelina was even more relieved.

A few days passed after she and the other Racers got the news, and Jubileena approached Crumbelina.

"Hi Crumbelina." Jubileena smiled.

"Hi Jubileena, thank you for getting Gloyd off my back." Crumbelina smiled back.

"Oh it was no trouble at all...actually it benefitted me as much as it benefitted you." Jubileena blushed.

Crumbelina was surprised.

"Huh, so you really do love him." Crumbleina shook her head. "I'll never understand why but since his dating you means that he'll leave me alone I won't protest."

"Crumbelina, I know you only see Gloyd as an immature prankster. Believe me you're not the only one." Jubileena sighed. "But he is so much more than that. He's fun, kind, cares about others...that's why I'm here. I want you to give him a chance at being his friend. It doesn't even have to be a close friendship as long as you stop hating him. He still feels bad about angering you that much."

"I don't know...I don't want to get hit with another prank again." Crumbelina frowned.

"You won't, I promise. Gloyd vowed to never prank you again. He's even going to stop giving you gifts to help keep his promise...except for Christmas and your birthday but I'll help him give you non-prank ones in those cases."

Crumbelina paused for a moment. Even though she didn't trust Gloyd she did trust Jubileena. Jubileena was one of the sweetest and most loving Racers after all...

"Well...I'll at least watch him from far away and see if he does anything besides pranks." Crumeblina gave in.

Jubileena grinned and hugged her.

"Thank you!" She said happily. "I know it'll make Gloyd happy."

"You're welcome...but don't get your hopes up." Crumbelina warned gently. "I doubt anything will change."

"We'll see." Jubileena pulled away and smirked knowingly.

Crumbelina just shrugged and left. She went looking for Gloyd and saw him in a field nearby. She hid not too far away and watched him. As time passed she did see him have fun without pulling pranks, but later on he did pull a couple on a few citizens. The citizens just laughed it off however.

Later that night Crumbelina headed for home. She decided to give him an extra day and then call it quits...but then she noticed him go inside his house nearby and then head back outside. She was surprised, she thought Gloyd went outside at night only during Halloween and New Year's Day. She decided to follow him to see what he was up to.

A few minutes passed and he stopped in front of a forest.

"Okay Hallo, time for your flight." Gloyd smiled as he reached inside his jacket.

Crumbelina dropped her mouth open as she saw him pull out a fruit bat. The fruit bat, Hallo, flew off Gloyd's fingers and then flew up to his face, nuzzling him.

"Hey okay okay!" Gloyd chuckled. "Come on I can't stay for long, you know my parents don't like me staying out too late."

Hallo squeaked happily and flew through the forest. Gloyd grinned and started to head back when he heard a frightened squeak.

"Hallo?" He said worriedly.

Hallo suddenly flew back to Gloyd and flew inside his jacket, shivering with fright.

"What's wrong buddy-what?" Gloyd now dropped his mouth open. "He wasn't supposed to be back for another week!"

The 'he' Gloyd was referring to was an old forest owl, who shrieked as he dove towards Gloyd.

"No!" Gloyd ducked down, causing the old owl to miss. "Get away from Hallo you old buzzard!"

Much to Crumbelina's surprise, Gloyd only zipped up his jacket and ran for home. She expected him to fight back at least with a prank if nothing else.

"I've got to remember to ask Vanellope to transfer that buzzard far away from here." Gloyd frowned to himself. "Over a year since she was returned to her throne and I still haven't asked...I really hate myself for that."

The old owl then dove towards Gloyd with another shriek. Gloyd dove out of the way, making sure not to crush Hallo in the process. But before Gloyd could get back up the old owl dove again and started attacking him.

"Go away!" Gloyd waved his hand at the old owl only to be sharply bitten on the hand; he let out a cry of pain. "Leave Hallo alone!" He snapped, trying to ignore the pain in his hand.

Crumbelina then frowned, grabbed a nearby candy stick and some hard candy pieces, and tossed the candy pieces at the old owl.

"Hey get away from him!" She snapped.

The old owl, not expecting Gloyd to have backup, started to give up the fight. He gave up entirely when Crumbelina gave him a sharp blow on the chest with the candy stick. He flew away, screeching disappointedly.

"Are you okay Gloyd?" Crumbelina asked.

"Kinda...Crumbelina? What are you doing out here at night?" Gloyd slowly got up, slightly in pain.

"Jubileena convinced me to get to know you more so I've been watching you to see if you really were more than a prankster." Crumbelina explained. "Looks like she was right, you defended your bat friend without a single prank."

"Pet actually." Gloyd explained. "I rescued Hallo from that owl when he was a baby. He already had lost his parents to that old buzzard and I didn't want to see the little guy killed as well. So I took him home...my parents were a little upset about me bringing a wild animal into the house, but after learning why they let me take care of him as long as I promised to set him free once he was old enough to fly. I protested at first, not wanting the owl to hurt him, but I gave in since I knew that Hallo belonged outside. I raised him until he was old enough to fly, and by that point we had bonded. I let him fly away one night, but before morning he came back. Even though he accepted his new life outdoors he still was my pet first-and-foremost. My parents agreed to let him stay as long as I promised to let him out each night. I was still worried about the owl, but I agreed. Later on I learned that the owl didn't stay here forever, he had another home far away and would leave for that home for a portion of the year. After working out the schedule I decided to definitely let Hallo out when the owl was gone, but be more cautious about it when the owl was back." Gloyd then sighed and winced at his bitten hand. "I think he caught on to my plan though."

"We'd better get that taken care of." Crumbelina looked at him sympathetically.

"Yeah. We're going home Hallo, you've already been through enough tonight. I'll put you back in the attic." Gloyd looked into his jacket.

Gloyd and Crumbelina then headed for his house. Gloyd opened the door and let Crumbelina walk inside first. He then went inside and shut the door.

"You're home later than usual son." Mr. Orangeboar remarked, reading a book.

"The owl came back early." Gloyd explained.

Startled, Mr. Orangeboar looked up and dropped his mouth open. He saw Gloyd's bitten hand and the slight scratches on his face.

"Oh my goodness!" He tossed his book aside and ran to his son. "Are you okay?"

"Kinda. I mean I'm sure I'll live but it does hurt." Gloyd winced.

"Son!" Mrs. Orangeboar appeared, having overheard. "No wonder you were always worried about that owl...I mean attacking you like this..."

"Told ya that owl was an old buzzard." Gloyd chuckled.

"How did you escape?" Mr. Orangeboar asked.

"Crumbelina was nearby and saw what had happened. She chased the old buzzard away with a stick." Gloyd explained.

Mr. and Mrs. Orangeboar turned to Crumbelina.

"Thank you for saving him." Mrs. Orangeboar smiled.

"Anything for a fellow Racer." Crumbelina smiled.

"I'm gonna go take care of these cuts." Gloyd said. "And put Hallo back in the attic." He took Hallo out, who was still shivering. "He's been through more than enough."

"Right, I'll get some warm applesauce ready for him." Mr. Orangeboar nodded.

"And how would you like some pumpkin cocoa?" Mrs. Orangeboar smiled.

"Mmm, I'd love it." Gloyd grinned. "Want to see where Hallo lives Crumbelina?"

"Sure." Crumbelina smiled.

They went upstairs as Gloyd's parents headed for the kitchen.

"So, uh, I guess you don't hate me anymore huh?" Gloyd asked a bit shyly.

"Never really did. I just always hated pranks." Crumbelina shrugged.

"Well pranks are a big part of who I am so..."

"I know I know, I just..." Crumbelina sighed. "Look, I understand that you have to be who you are, but there are better ways of showing affection. Using pranks...truthfully I think Jubileena is the only one who actually likes it.

"Yeah..." Gloyd smiled, obviously in love with her. "She's definitely the one for me. I just wish I saw it sooner."

"Well if it's any consolation I'm not surprised that you got a crush on me in the first place." Crumbelina smirked.

"Yeah, me and almost every other guy out there. In fact I think Rancis was the only one who never had a crush on you." Gloyd remembered.

"True, he's always had a thing for Taffyta." Crumbelina nodded.

"Does, uh, Taffyta like him back?" Gloyd asked innocently.

"Nice try Trickster, even if I knew I wouldn't tell you." Crumbelina smirked knowingly.

"Rats." Gloyd frowned.

He and Swizzle had been trying to talk Rancis into asking Taffyta out, but Rancis was too scared. Gloyd figured that if Taffyta did like Rancis back the knowledge would give Rancis the courage he needed. Oh well, it was worth a try.

They had reached the entrance to the attic by this point, so Gloyd pulled a rope that was hanging from the ceiling and a ladder descended. They then climbed the ladder and were in the attic. Crumbelina was a little surprised: the attic was actually clean. On one side were all the usual boxes you'd see in an attic, as well as a few old pieces of furniture. On the other side was a tall table placed underneath a rafter. On the table were a couple of bowls, one of which was already filled with water. The other was empty, but was obviously for food. Near the table was a beam resting on two poles. It kinda looked like a miniature limbo pole.

"Hallo originally lived in my room until he was big enough to fly." Gloyd explained. "After he first came back I made a space for him in the attic. This way he could fly around a little and have a snack if he got peckish during the day."

"What's that beam for?" Crumbelina asked.

"Sometimes after that old owl attacks Hallo gets too scared to fly to the rafters, like right now." Gloyd said as he brought Hallo to the beam. "So we got this perch for him to rest on."

Hallo climbed off Gloyd's finger and onto the perch. He was still shaking.

"It's okay buddy, you're safe." Gloyd scratched Hallo behind the ears. "I have to go take care of my cuts now, but I'll see you tomorrow okay? Dad will be up soon with your applesauce. It's a comfort food for him." He then added to Crumbelina as he headed back towards the ladder.

"Ah." Crumbelina said understandingly as she followed him.

They then headed for Gloyd's bathroom. It was orange and yellow mostly, with some white. There were a few black things in there too. Gloyd opened a cupboard and took out some ointment and bandages.

"Let me help you with your back." Crumbelina offered.

"Thanks." Gloyd took his shirt and jacket off.

There were a few bad scratches, but nothing that couldn't heal. Crumbelina put ointment and bandages on those cuts as Gloyd took care of his hand and face.

"Much better." He said with relief; he then took off his hat. "Yeesh, good thing I have backups."

Yeah, his hat was kinda torn too. The good news however was that his hat had saved his head from the attacks.

Mrs. Orangeboar then showed up with Gloyd's cocoa.

"Would you like a cup too Crumbelina?" She asked.

"No thank you, I'd better get home." Crumbelina smiled. "My parents are probably worried about me."

She started to leave but then stopped and turned around.

"Jubileena was actually right about you Gloyd, despite your pranks you are kind and do care about others." She smiled. "I guess we can be friends after all...as long as you stop pranking me."

"Racer's honor." Gloyd raised his right hand sincerely.

They both smiled, and Crumbelina left. When she got home she found out that she was right: her parents had been worried about her. However once she explained they understood and didn't get mad at her. They were also proud of her for saving Gloyd despite her not liking him at the time.

The next day everyone else found out what had happened. Jubileena was really happy that Crumbelina had warmed up to Gloyd, but was furious about what that owl had done.

"Thank you so much for saving him." She hugged Crumbelina. "I don't know what I would've done if he-"

"Hey, it's okay Jubileena." Gloyd smiled. "It was only a few cuts."

Jubileena then let go of Crumbelina and hugged Gloyd. He hugged her back.

"Even so, I love you and I don't like seeing you hurt." Jubileena said.

"I love you too." Gloyd smiled.

"Well, I'd better send the Bear Claw SWAT Team after that owl." Vanellope frowned. "Any creature that attacks one of my citizens just to eat the citizen's pet is not welcome in my country." She started to leave, muttering: "Cheese, it's not like Hallo was the only food source around for miles, stupid picky owl..." She teleported away.

Ralph then showed up.

"Pile On Ralph!" Taffyta called.

"Here we go again." Ralph rolled his eyes, slightly amused.

Sure enough the Racers, except for Vanellope of course, leapt onto Ralph.

"Hey!" Ralph laughed. "Okay okay, great to see you guys too. Where's Vanellope? We have a date with Felix and Calhoun at Tapper's."

"She went to send the Bear Claw SWAT Team after this rogue owl." Rancis explained. "It attacked Gloyd while trying to eat his pet bat Hallo."

"Geez, that owl must have issues." Ralph frowned. "You okay Gloyd?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now." Gloyd smiled. "And you're right about the issues. You see...I've known that owl for years. It's the same one that ate Hallow's parents back when he was a baby."

Everyone except for Crumbelina looked at him shocked.

"I saved Hallo and took care of him, and I think the owl's been resenting me for that ever since." Gloyd finished.

Vanellope then reappeared thanks to her teleporting.

"That's got that taken care of." She dusted off her hands. "The SWAT Team's gonna send that owl so far away that he won't be able to fly back."

"They'll get the right one right?" Gloyd asked.

"I should think so, you did say it was an old owl and there probably aren't that many around here." Vanellope shrugged.

"Yeah, the owl that attacked me and Hallo is the only old owl around here." Gloyd confirmed.

"Good." Vanellope smiled. "Well, gotta go Racers. Ralph and I gotta start our date."

"See you later Vanny." Taffyta smiled. "We'll put off the Roster Race until you get back."

"Right." Vanellope gave them a thumbs up.

She and Ralph left.

Things got a lot better for Gloyd after that. He found his real love in Jubileena, gained a friend in Crumbelina, and, even better, he would never have to worry about that old owl attacking Hallo ever again.


	3. GloydXJubileena Version 2

A.N. This one was CartoonCaster21's idea.

Jubileena had been frustrated with two things in her life. One was Gloyd: she was in love with him but he had a crush on Crumbelina. The other was racing: no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get very good at it. Her twin Citrusella was a lot better than her. Jubileena didn't resent her sister for it or anything, but she still was a little jealous.

One day she saw Gloyd practice-race along a smaller track. Sugar Rush had various small tracks scattered around so that Racers could practice racing without using the main track.

"Hm, he's not too bad. Maybe he can help me." Jubileena said to herself.

She headed for the track.

"Hi Gloyd!" She waved.

Gloyd stopped and raised his goggles.

"Hey Jubileena." Gloyd smiled. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with my racing." Jubileena asked. "I have been practicing but I just haven't been getting any better."

"Sure, but why me? Vanellope, Taffyta, and Rancis are the three best racers around here." Gloyd said.

"I know, but I want you to help me." Jubileena blushed a little. "Please?"

"Of course." Gloyd smiled. "I'd be happy too."

Jubileena beamed.

"Great! I'll get my kart!" She ran off.

She came back in her kart some minutes later and entered the track. Gloyd started teaching her a few tricks and they soon were racing together on the track. They ended up spending the rest of the day practice-racing.

A few days passed like this, and Gloyd got to know Jubileena more through it as well. He ended up really liking her, but hadn't given up on Crumbelina yet. As more time passed his heart did slowly start to let go of Crumbelina and move onto Jubileena, but he didn't catch on until about a month later.

It was in the evening, and most of the Racers were heading home. Crumbelina and Gloyd were two of them, and since they lived nearby they often saw each other along the way. Well Gloyd definitely saw Crumbelina, but Crumbelina tried to hide the fact that she saw him too. Gloyd had been showing his affection through pranks and Crumbelina really hated that.

Anyway, Gloyd expected his heart to pound or flip-flop or something as she passed him...but nothing. For the first time ever, Gloyd didn't feel a thing.

"What?" He said to himself as he walked home for dinner. "I don't get it, I know I love Crumbelina so why don't I feel anything for her anymore? She hasn't changed at all..." Gloyd then got it. "So I must've. But what changed? I still have been doing pranks as before, same with racing. The only thing that changed was that I've been spending more time with Jubileena-"

Gloyd froze and put a hand over his heart. It had skipped a beat the moment he mentioned Jubileena's name. He decided to test it.

"Jubileena." He said; his heart skipped a beat again.

He then thought about Jubileena, and felt his heart start to beat faster.

"Oh my programmer!" He gasped. "I've fallen in love with Jubileena?"

He continued thinking about it.

"Should I tell her...? No...Crumbelina didn't want to be with me so why would any other girl? But then again Jubileena went to me of all Racers to help her..." Gloyd groaned. "What am I going to do?"

He ended up staying up almost half the night trying to figure it out.

Anyway, by this point Jubileena had gotten a lot better at racing. She waited Gloyd by the track they had been using but he was running late. She wasn't surprised though, he had been looking really tired all day. When he finally arrived she decided to find out why even though she had a guess.

"Didn't get much sleep last night?" Jubileena guessed.

"Yeah, my mind was stuck on something." Gloyd shook his head before yawning. "Good thing I hadn't been on the roster today, I probably would've annoyed a player or two with my crashes."

"You should've taken a nap while the races were going on." Jubileena said concernedly.

"It's okay, I'll just go to bed early tonight." Gloyd shrugged.

"No, you're going to bed now." Jubileena shook her head. "I've been doing a lot better so I think I can take it from here anyway. Thank you Gloyd, really. I couldn't have done it without you." She then smiled.

"Aw sure you could've." Gloyd smiled back. "But yeah, you're right, I should go to bed now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Jubileena smiled.

Truthfully Gloyd was relieved. Not only did he really need to sleep but he wanted to think more about whether or not to tell Jubileena how he felt.

So, he went home and took a nap. He woke up again a few hours later feeling more awake...but also hungry. It was past dinnertime so he went downstairs to eat.

"Hey son." Mr. Orangeboar smiled, just finishing dinner with Mrs. Orangeboar. "We would've woken you up earlier but you seemed really tired so we decided to let you sleep."

"It's okay, I'll just make myself a sandwich." Gloyd shrugged before heading to the kitchen to get some things out of the fridge.

"Are you okay? Normally you sleep really well but today you looked as if you hadn't gotten much sleep last night." Mrs. Orangeboar asked.

"I hadn't, had a lot on my mind." Gloyd confirmed.

"Worrying about Crumbelina eh?" Mr. Orangeboar smirked.

"Nah, Jubileena." Gloyd shook his head as he made his sandwich. "I ended up falling in love with her...I'm not sure exactly when, but I didn't realize it until yesterday."

"That's good, I never did thought Crumbelina was the right girl for you." Mrs. Orangeboar nodded approvingly. "She never liked any of your pranks. Jubileena on the other hand is also a really nice girl plus seems to like your pranks."

"Yeah...she does." Gloyd smiled. "But I don't know how to tell her how I feel."

"Well definitely no pranks. I think it would be better if you tried a different tactic." Mr. Orangeboar said. "How about you make her something like a card?"

"That might work..." Gloyd hesitated. "Well, I'll think about it."

"Okay. We're going to watch a movie you want to join us?" Mrs. Orangeboar asked as she started to clear the table.

"Nah, I need to think more about what to do for Jubileena. But thanks anyway." Gloyd smiled as he sat at the table.

His parents nodded understandingly and left. Gloyd ate and thought. Making something for Jubileena wasn't a bad idea, but he wanted to do something other than a card. He did think of baking something for her, but there was a problem: he wasn't a good cook. No one else except for his parents knew about this however. You see all the other Racers were good cooks, each with their own specialty, so Gloyd found his inability to cook embarrassing. He didn't even take cooking class in school like the other Racers because he didn't want to risk the others finding out.

Gloyd became frustrated again. He couldn't think of anything better to make for Jubileena. Instead all he could think of was to at least try to bake something.

The next day Jubileena went to visit Gloyd to see how he was doing. She knocked on the door and Mrs. Orangeboar opened it.

"Hello Jubileena." She smiled.

"Hi Mrs. Orangeboar, has Gloyd caught up on his sleep yet?" Jubileena asked.

"Yes, he's feeling much better-"

"AW NUTS!" Gloyd's voice suddenly rang out from the kitchen.

"Er, except, uh..." Mrs. Oranageboar hesitated.

Jubileena, without thinking, ran for the kitchen.

"Oh Jubileena wait, I don't think-" Mrs. Orangeboar tried to protest but it was too late.

Yup, Jubileena had seen the mess in the kitchen. Batter was all over the place, and there were a few bad-looking pumpkin pies on the counter. In the middle was Gloyd sobbing with another bad-looking pie on the floor.

"Gloyd?" Jubileena asked concernedly.

Gloyd looked up and turned red with embarrassment.

"Oh no...Jubileena, uh...I can explain..." Gloyd stammered.

"Have you been trying to bake a pie?" Jubileena guessed.

"Yeah I...I mean..."

"But..." Jubileena's eyes widened as she got it. "You don't know how to cook do you?"

Gloyd hung his head.

"No, I don't." He admitted. "I'm a horrible cook."

"How come you never said anything before?" Jubileena knelt down and lifted Gloyd's head.

"Are you kidding? Jubileena I'm the only Racer who's a horrible cook. Even Vanellope is good at it and she was without a kitchen for fifteen years." Gloyd shed a few tears. "I was too ashamed to say anything."

"That explains why you don't take cooking in school..." Jubileena realized. "But Gloyd it's nothing to be ashamed about. The other Racers and I didn't start off as good cooks, we needed our parents to teach us at first."

"Never did think to ask my parents..." Gloyd sighed.

"Not surprised, you always had been the absent-minded one." Jubileena giggled.

"Yeah, even Candlehead is better at thinking than I am." Gloyd joked.

"Gloyd you know Candlehead is smarter than she appears." Jubileena smirked.

"I know I know, I was kidding." Gloyd chuckled.

He then let Jubileena help him up.

"How about I help you bake a pumpkin pie?" Jubileena offered.

"Really? You don't have to, I mean..."

"Don't worry about it, just consider it my thanks to you for helping me become a better Racer."

"Well...in that case I'd love your help." Gloyd smiled.

Jubileena helped him clean up the kitchen, and then they started to make a new pie. Gloyd did his best to follow Jubileena's instructions exactly, and by the end of the day he was able to make a pie that was at least edible though still not that tasty.

A few days passed before Gloyd finally learned enough to practice cooking on his own without Jubileena's help. It took until the end of the week before he became a good cook though, even if he still wasn't as good as the others.

The next week he invited Jubileena over to taste his latest pie. When she arrived Mr. Orangeboar led her to the dining room. She was instantly confused: where was Gloyd and his pie?

"Jubileena?"

Jubileena turned and saw Gloyd in the kitchen carrying something on a covered tray. Obviously it was the pie.

"Thank you so much for teaching me how to cook." Gloyd smiled. "It means a lot to me."

"Well, what are friends for?" Jubileena blushed slightly. "Besides, you taught me how to race better so no thanks are necessary."

"Even so, I had to make this for you." Gloyd now blushed a little as he sat in the chair next to her and set the tray onto the table.

Jubileena lifted the lid...and blushed even stronger. Written on the pumpkin pie with whipped cream were just three words: I Love You.

"Y-you love me?" Jubileena felt her heart beating faster.

"Yes, I started to fall in love with you back when I was teaching you how to be a better racer." Gloyd blushed a bit stronger as well. "That's why I was trying to bake a pie, it was for you."

Jubileena felt a tear roll down her cheek, and she suddenly hugged him.

"I've loved you for years but was scared to tell you." She admitted.

"Because of Crumbelina." Gloyd realized.

"Uh-huh...I thought I wasn't good enough for you."

"Well you are." Gloyd smiled. "You have to be because...I really do love you."

"I love you too."

They then pulled apart a little and smiled at each other. Feeling an instant attraction, their faces started to move closer to each other until...they kissed. 8-bit hearts instantly surrounded them.

And they have been together ever since.


	4. Gloyd-Crumbelina Friendship Version 2

A.N. This was flowerpower71's idea.

Crumbelina was really happy and relieved upon learning that Gloyd had fallen in love with Jubileena and that they were now a couple. Maybe now she can get some peace and not have to worry about being pranked again.

She was right, Gloyd had vowed to leave Crumbelina alone. At least prank-wise. Once she learned that she decided to take a drive out into the fields and enjoy herself.

She got pretty far and was having a good time until she skidded on a patch of mushed banana. Apparently it had slid down from the nearby ice cream mountains, sometimes the bananas up there would get a bit old and break free from the mountains much like a glacier.

"Oh spinach!" Crumbelina frowned, trying to regain control.

No luck, her kart ended up crashing into a rock. The impact caused her to hit her head on the steering wheel and she lost consciousness.

Fortunately, Gloyd had also been taking a drive nearby. Now he had no idea that Crumbelina was out there, he was just picking up some ice cream for him and Jubileena for the night. They had planned to watch a few movies together. Even though there were stores around Sugar Rush the citizens and Racers sometimes liked to collect candy and ice cream and other things out in nature. It was fun, plus it was a good way to get exercise. The Racers especially loved doing it because they liked making sure that they were in tip-top shape for racing.

Anyway, Gloyd was just collecting the last of the ice cream when he saw Crumbelina crash.

"Crumbelina!" He gasped.

He ran over to her and checked on her. She seemed to be fine but she wouldn't wake up.

"Oh man..." Gloyd wasn't sure what to do at first, but then he saw some licorice ropes. "Aha!"

He went over to the licorice ropes and tied Crumbelina's kart to his.

"Good thing these are strong." He remarked.

After he was done he gently moved Crumbelina so that she was lying down. He then got back in his own kart and slowly drove Crumbelina home.

"Crumbelina!" Mrs. Di Caramello gasped as she rushed outside, having see Gloyd drive up through the window. "What happened?"

"She hit a patch of mushy bananas and lost control." Gloyd explained. "I think she's fine, she's just unconscious."

"Thank you for bringing her home." Mrs. Di Caramello said as she gently picked up Crumbelina.

"Anything for a fellow Racer." Gloyd smiled.

Mrs. Di Caramello then carried Crumbelina inside. Mr. Di Caramello showed up and Mrs. Di Caramello explained what had happened.

"Would you like to come in Gloyd?" Mr. Di Caramello asked.

"Sure, thank you." Gloyd smiled as he went inside.

He then realized that this was the first time he had ever been inside the Di Caramello's house. He instantly saw where Crumbelina got her fancy taste from.

"Thank you for bringing our daughter home." Mr. Di Caramello said. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Nah, just let me check on her now and then." Gloyd shook his head. "Even though I love Jubileena I still care a lot about Crumbelina."

"That we can do."

Gloyd then went up to Crumbelina's room to check on her. Mrs. Di Caramello had already put her in her bed to rest. Gloyd went over and gently touched her head. Crumbelina groaned slightly.

"Poor dear, she must have quite a headache." Mrs. Di Caramello said sympathetically. "I think it's best if you let her rest alone, you can check on her later."

"Okay." Gloyd said quietly. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how she's doing."

He and Crumbelina's parents said their goodbyes, Crumbelina's parents thanked him again, and Gloyd left.

That night as he and Jubileena watched their movies he explained what happened to Crumbelina. Jubileena was sympathetic about Crumbelina, proud of Gloyd for helping her home, and relieved that Crumbelina didn't seem to have anything worse than a headache.

The next day both she and Gloyd went to check on Crumbelina. It turns out she was awake, and apart from her headache she was fine.

"Hi Jubileena." Crumbelina winced while holding an ice pack to her head. "How did you find out about my headache?"

"Gloyd told me what happened yesterday, he's the one who brought you home." Jubileena explained.

Crumbelina's eyes widened a little and she stared at Gloyd, who had just moved into view.

"You did?" She asked.

"Well yeah, I mean I couldn't leave you out there." Gloyd shrugged.

"What about my kart?" Crumbelina asked.

"It's back in the garage. It still needs to be repaired but it probably won't take long." Gloyd explained. "See I couldn't fit you in my kart so I moved you to a lying position in your kart and towed both of you back thanks to some licorice ropes."

"Good, I'd hate for anything permanent to happen to it." Crumbelina said with relief. "My kart is special you know, after all it was the one Vanellope used to save Ralph-"

"Yeah we know." Jubileena interrupted, annoyed and amused. "You're never going to let that go are you?"

Crumbelina just grinned as Gloyd rolled his eyes with an amused smirk. Crumbelina then became serious again.

"Thank you Gloyd. I guess you are more than just a prankster after all." She smiled.

"Anything for a fellow Racer...and friend I hope." Gloyd said with an almost begging expression.

"Of course friend." Crumbelina chuckled slightly. "Anyone who'd do something that nice for me is a friend of mine despite past treatment."

"Yeah...sorry about those pranks but I had a hard time expressing my affections without them." Gloyd blushed.

"It's okay, I'm just glad you found someone who actually likes your pranks." Crumbelina smiled.

Gloyd smiled back.

Crumbelina soon recovered and was soon racing again. She and Gloyd did end up being good friends. Not exactly close friends, but good enough for them to hang out now and then.


	5. SwizzleXMinty

Jubileena wasn't the only Racer who had been interested in a guy. Sticky too had a guy she dreamed about ending up with: Swizzle. However he only seemed to like her back as a friend. Even though he had given her a thumbs up many times before as well as other things, he mostly hung around her sister Minty. Sticky just didn't know what to do: did Swizzle really did like her and was asking Minty for help, or did he really like Minty?

Sticky didn't get her answer until not too long after Gloyd and Jubileena ended up together. She was taking a drive through Sugar Rush when she saw Swizzle and Minty sitting together under a tree. She stopped her kart and decided to spy on them for a while.

"It's been fun hanging out with you these past few years Swizzle." Minty smiled. "I've been having a great time."

"I'm glad, I wanted you to get to know me outside racing and performing stunts before asking you something." Swizzle smiled.

"What is it?" Minty asked.

"Will you...be my girlfriend?"

Sticky was heartbroken.

"You mean...you mean you like me?" Minty blushed.

"No, I love you." Swizzle kissed her hand. "You're clever, resourceful, and protective of those you care about."

Minty blushed even stronger.

"Truthfully, I've always really liked you too. You're brave and full of life, yet also charming and kind." She said. "So yes, I'd love to be your girlfriend."

Sticky ran back to her kart and drove off in tears, just missing seeing Swizzle and Minty kiss while 8-bit hearts surrounded them.

Sticky headed home and ran up to her room, still heartbroken. Torvald was upstairs as well, giving her pet golden retriever a bath.

"There." Torvald's voice came out of the bathroom. "I wish you'd stop rolling in those chocolate puddles Treasure. Oh well, at least it's easy to clean off. Especially since most of it just seems to slip off your fur-HEY!"

A shaky-splashy sound was heard.

"Ugh, I keep forgetting to dry you off first before you do that." Torvald came out of the bathroom wringing her skirt dry. "You're lucky my clothes are machine washable."

Treasure then bounded out of the bathroom.

"Oh no you don't!" Torvald tackled him. "I'm not done drying-"

She then heard Sticky crying in her bedroom.

"Oh dear...come on boy, I know you hate the hair dryer but I have to dry you quickly." Torvald dragged Treasure back into the bathroom and shut the door.

The sounds of the hair dryer and Treasure's protests came from the bathroom for a few minutes. Torvald then came out and Treasure rushed out, nearly knocking over a labrador retriever that was walking upstairs. The labrador retriever gave Torvald an annoyed look.

"Sorry Caramel but I got a sister emergency to take care of." Torvald shrugged.

Torvald then knocked on Sticky's door.

"Hey sis, Torvald here can I come in?" She asked.

"Yeah..." Sticky sniffled.

Torvald opened the door and entered the room with Caramel following.

"Sticky what's wrong?" Torvald asked.

"Well, you know how I've had this crush on Swizzle for a long time?" Sticky wiped her eyes.

"Yeah...oh. Didn't work out?" Torvald said sympathetically, sitting on Sticky's bed.

"No, he just asked Minty to be his girlfriend." Sticky hung her head.

"Really?" Torvald at first looked happy but then wiped off her smile. "Uh, I mean...man it's hard being in the middle..."

"It's okay, I'm happy for Minty too." Sticky managed a small smile. "She's really lucky."

"Especially since she's also liked Swizzle for a long time." Torvald remarked.

"Really?" Sticky looked at her with surprise. "You knew about that?"

"She went to me for my input just like you went to me for my input." Torvald chuckled. "She also knew how you feel about Swizzle so she asked me not to say anything to you about her feelings. She didn't want Swizzle to come between the two of you even though she couldn't ignore her feelings."

"Oh." Sticky wiped another eye. "What am I going to do?"

"Well, since you both love Swizzle I say leave it up to him." Torvald shrugged. "And try to put Minty before your feelings for Swizzle okay?"

"Don't worry, I will." Sticky managed a small smile.

"Good. Now I'd better make sure that Treasure is okay, used the hair dryer on him again." Torvald got up and started to leave.

"Seriously? You know how much he hates that." Sticky frowned.

"Yeah but I heard you crying so...never mind." Torvald sighed. "We really got to get a pair of earmuffs for that dog..." She muttered as she left.

Sticky couldn't help but giggle. She then looked at Pongo and Perdita, her two lovebirds.

"How I wish Swizzle and I could be like you two." She sighed.

Pongo and Perdita gave her a sympathetic look. Caramel whined.

"It's okay Caramel, you can be on Minty's side if you want." Sticky smiled.

Caramel wagged his tail a little and then licked her cheek. Sticky giggled.

"I still care about you too."

Minty came home later that day lovestruck. Torvald met her first.

"Great day huh?" Torvald smirked, seeing Minty's expression.

"Yeah, Swizzle asked me to be his girlfriend-" Minty's smile faded. "Oh no, what about Sticky?"

"She already knows, she came home crying earlier today." Torvald said gently.

"Great." Minty groaned. "I was worried about this. I'd better go talk to her."

She headed upstairs and knocked on Sticky's door.

"Torvald?" Sticky's voice said.

"No Sticky, it's Minty."

"Oh. It's okay you can come in."

Minty went inside. Sticky was reading one of her romance novels on her bed.

"I, uh, heard that you found out about me and Swizzle." Minty said awkwardly.

"It's okay, I know you really like him back." Sticky said. "I'm not mad at you or anything. It's just...I can't stop loving Swizzle so...if I tried to win him over would you be mad at me?"

"Depends on how you go about it." Minty sat on the bed. "I mean I don't expect you to just shove your feelings aside, so as long as you don't try to sabotage my relationship with Swizzle I can handle it. After all it's up to Swizzle who he wants to be with."

"Oh no nothing like that." Sticky shook her head and sat up a bit. "I was thinking more along the lines of impressing him somehow. And I'll leave him alone whenever he's with you."

"Thanks sis." Minty hugged her. "I'm glad you understand."

"Of course, I don't want Swizzle to come between us either." Sticky hugged Minty back.

Sticky thought about how she could impress Swizzle the rest of the day. Then she got an idea: perform stunts. Swizzle loved to perform stunts so maybe if she performed a few he would get so impressed that he'd fall in love with her.

She started practicing in secret up in the ice cream mountains' slopes. However it wasn't exactly a secret, as others began to spot her and word started to spread round. This was how Sticky wanted to be discovered, she wanted to make it look as if she had been interested in performing stunts just for fun rather than as a way to impress Swizzle.

Swizzle, Minty, and Torvald soon found out as well and they started to watch her. Sticky did have some spills, but nothing serious. Minty and Torvald were the only ones who knew why Sticky was performing stunts, but even so they couldn't help but be impressed. This was a very brave move of Sticky's.

At one point Sticky did a few backflips on a pair of skis after leaping up into the air. She landed without spilling, though wobbled a bit, and everyone applauded. She then saw Swizzle and her sisters - or pretended to have just seen them - and went over.

"Hey Minty, Torvald, what did you think?" Sticky smiled after getting off her skis.

"That was really cool." Torvald smiled.

"It was, and I gotta admit it's very brave of you to start performing stunts despite still being a beginner at skiing. I just hope you don't hurt yourself." Minty agreed.

"Oh I'll be fine, I'm actually really getting the hang of this." Sticky smiled back.

"Hey Sticky." Swizzle smiled. "Awesome stunt."

"Thanks Swizzle." Sticky blushed a little.

"So, Minty and I were going to get some hot cocoa, would you and Torvald like to join us?" Swizzle asked.

"I'd love some." Torvald smiled.

"Uh, sure." Sticky agreed.

She was confused though. Swizzle obviously was impressed so why hadn't he fallen in love with her? She decided that she had to step up her game and perform an incredible stunt.

After she got home she looked up complicated stunts online, finally deciding on one: The Stork. Basically it was like jumping off the ramp and landing, only on one leg instead of two. It wasn't recommended because two legs were needed to keep balance on the slopes, but a few professional skiers had managed to master it.

So the next day she gave it a try. She only wore one ski and tucked her free leg under her body. Swizzle, Minty, and Torvald watched along with a lot of citizens.

"What is she crazy?" Swizzle gasped upon seeing the position Sticky took up.

"What do you mean?" Minty asked, concerned.

"That's The Stork, a very complicated stunt." Swizzle explained. "Only a few professional skiers have mastered it. I haven't even attempted it yet!"

"Oh cheese..." Torvald's eyes widened.

She suddenly raced towards the top of the slope. It was too late, Sticky jumped.

"Sticky no!" Torvald cried.

Minty and Swizzle watched with concern as Sticky attempted the stunt. Expectedly she didn't get it right. Worse, she had landed wrong and had hurt her leg!

"Sticky!" Torvald and Minty gasped before running to their sister.

Sticky was lying on the ground crying and clutching her hurt leg.

"Oh Sticky, you shouldn't have done that stunt." Torvald shook her head sympathetically. "Not even Swizzle has tried it before."

"But I-I had too..." Sticky sobbed. "I mean if I had made it then Swizzle..."

"But you didn't make it because it was an advanced stunt and you're still a beginner." Minty gently rubbed Sticky's head. "Sticky talent has nothing to do with real love, real love comes from the heart."

An ambulance had arrived thanks to a citizen having called the hospital. The ambulance workers gently got Sticky into the ambulance and Minty and Torvald went inside before they drove off.

Unknown to them Swizzle had also rushed towards Sticky and overheard everything. He then got why Sticky had been doing those stunts in the past: she had a crush on him and was trying to impress him. He suddenly felt bad, if he had caught on earlier then this probably wouldn't have happened. Either way he knew he had to talk to Sticky later.

He did the next day, in the hospital. It turns out Sticky had broken her leg. Now while Racers did heal right away during game play this did not extend to other times of the day. Healing was faster for them than it is for us, but it still took a while.

Swizzle showed up in Sticky's hospital room with a box of chocolates. Minty and Torvald were already there trying to get Sticky's mind off her leg.

"Swizzle?" Sticky was a bit surprised.

"Figured some chocolate would help you feel better." Swizzle smiled sympathetically. "Also I feel bad for what had happened."

"But it wasn't your fault." Torvald said with confusion.

"Yes it was." Swizzle looked at Sticky knowingly.

Sticky blushed.

"You overheard us talking yesterday didn't you?" She looked away.

"Yeah. Didn't mean to, I was actually checking on you but..." Swizzle sighed. "Sticky while I do admire your determination doing The Stork was a very foolish move. Especially since if you had succeeded it still wouldn't have gotten me to love you back."

Sticky shed a tear.

"You see I do love both you and Torvald...but like sisters, nothing more." Swizzle sat down in a chair that was next to Sticky's bed. "Minty is the one I'm truly in love with."

Sticky wiped her eye.

"I understand." She said sadly.

"I wish I had known about your crush earlier, if I had explain things to you before yesterday then..." Swizzle looked away ashamedly.

"Don't blame yourself Swizzle." Minty said. "I've known about Sticky's feelings for a long time, maybe if I had told you...I know it wasn't any of my business but..."

"No, if anyone is to blame it's me." Sticky shook her head. "Attempting that stunt was still my decision. Even if Swizzle had known earlier I probably would've attempted the stunt anyway, who knows?"

"Still, I am sorry that you won't be racing for a few days." Swizzle said.

"It's okay." Sticky smiled. "And you know, I think I'll be okay with not having you for a boyfriend. Even though I was disappointed you turning me down didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. It certainly didn't hurt as much as my leg...or even my pride." She winced.

Swizzle, Minty, and Torvald couldn't help but chuckle. Sticky chuckled a little too.

So Sticky gave up on Swizzle, deciding to just be content with having him for a brother-figure. Her love for him didn't entirely go away, but it did fade a bit. Even so Sticky figured that her love for Swizzle wouldn't entirely go away until she found someone else to love. But that was highly unlikely.


	6. RancisXTaffyta

As mentioned before Rancis was in love with Taffyta. In fact he had been in love with her for years (game time, not his actual lifetime) but never got the courage to ask her out. To him Taffyta was the best Racer ever, not to mention the most beautiful, and he believed that he wasn't good enough for her. Now his feelings for her was love instead of a crush because her racing skills and her looks weren't why he fell in love with her. Instead he fell in love with her because of her ability to balance out her kindness and generosity towards others with her strict-but-fair leadership skills. She knew how to be a friend and a leader at the same time, and how to make decisions without picking favorites. It was no wonder that Vanellope picked Taffyta to be vice-president, a role that Rancis felt she more than deserved.

Anyway, Rancis's lack of confidence over ending up with Taffyta was the cause behind his egotistical nature. It turns out he wasn't really egotistical at all, he only cared so much about his appearance because he was trying to make himself feel better. Plus he believed that Taffyta deserved a guy who could look good along with the more important qualities, like personality. He believed that she deserved a prince, at least metaphorically if not literally.

Now the only two people who knew about his feelings for Taffyta, apart from his parents, were Gloyd and Swizzle. The three of them had all talked about their crushes before and had given each other advice. So far the advice giving had only succeeded once.

Swizzle wanted a girl who loved him for him and not for his ability to perform great stunts, so Gloyd and Rancis advised that he just hang out with each girl individually and let them get to know him more. This is what led Swizzle into falling in love with Minty, they had been hanging out when he realized his feelings for her. Gloyd had a crush on Crumbelina at the time but didn't know how to win her over, so Swizzle and Rancis advised him to give her gifts...but forgot to tell him to leave out the pranks. When they found out that Gloyd did add pranks they told him to not to do it again, but Gloyd couldn't help it.

As for Rancis, Gloyd and Swizzle advised that he should just gather some courage and ask her out, but he couldn't do it. Everytime he was near Taffyta his heart leapt into his throat and pounded, preventing him from saying a single word. He tried writing love letters to Taffyta, but nothing he wrote seemed good enough. Swizzle and Gloyd empathized and tried to casually find out from the other Racers if Taffyta liked him, hoping that if she did it would give Rancis the courage he needed to ask her out. The other Racers weren't fooled however, they knew it was none of their business to reveal how Taffyta felt. Besides, almost all of them didn't know how she felt anyway. In fact only two Racers knew: Candlehead and Vanellope. Candlehead found out back when Turbo was in power and Vanellope found out not long after Taffyta was made vice-president.

And speaking of Vanellope, Rancis got the idea to ask her for advice not long after Sticky started performing stunts to try to win Swizzle over.

"Hey Vanellope, can I talk to you for a moment?" Rancis said to Vanellope after a Roster Race. "I need your advice."

"Sure thing, always happy to help out a fellow Racer." Vanellope grinned.

They walked over to a field where no one could eavesdrop without being spotted.

"What's wrong?" Vanellope asked as they sat on a candy log.

"Well, I've been in love with Taffyta for years but can't find the courage to ask her out." Rancis admitted. "So what should I do?"

"Just ask her out. I don't see why you're so scared, I mean you are a great guy." Vanellope shrugged.

"But I'm not good enough for her." Rancis hung his head.

"No good enough? Hello: you're a great racer, good looking, knows how to dress well, protective of those you care about, kind-hearted...actually you're kinda like a knight now that I think about it." Vanellope realized. "The only differences are that you don't ride horses, wear armor, or know how to sword fight. But those aren't important details anyway."

"But...but she's amazing." Rancis sighed. "She's so kind and beautiful, and has great leadership skills. Plus she's the best racer ever."

"Gee thanks." Vanellope smirked, pretending to be insulted.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I mean..."

"I'm just teasing, I know that was just your love for Taffyta talking." Vanellope chuckled.

"Right..."

"Look, seriously, you should at least ask her out for a casual outing if nothing else." Vanellope said sincerely.

"I can't, every time I'm near her my heart pounds so hard that I can't say a single word." Rancis hung his head.

Vanellope frowned. Flattery and encouragement didn't seem to be working. Time to try a different tactic.

"You know what, forget it. Taffyta deserves better than a coward anyway." Vanellope got up an walked away, smirking once her back was to Rancis.

"What?" Rancis gasped, offended. "I am not a coward!"

"Oh really? Who's the one who can't even do the simple matter of asking a girl he loves out?" Vanellope teased. "Or maybe you don't even love her."

"Of course I love her!" Rancis snapped, leaping to his feet. "I love her more than my own life!"

"I'll believe it when you prove it. **If** you can." Vanellope challenged.

"Fine, I will!" Rancis glared. "I'll show you! Coward, of all the insulting..." He muttered as he left.

Vanellope just smirked. Even though Rancis wasn't as egotistical as he appeared he still had enough pride in him to be offended easily. And Vanellope knew it.

Rancis was still steaming a little as he headed for Taffyta's house, but by the time he neared the door he had calmed down. Instantly his fear came back and his heart started pounding again.

" _Oh no...I can't back down now Vanellope would never let it go._ " Rancis thought panically.

He continued on until he was at the door. He now felt as if his heart was trying to escape his body so that it could run away. He gulped hard in an attempt to push his heart back into his chest, and rang the doorbell. Taffyta opened the door not too much later.

"Hey Rancis, what's up?" Taffyta smiled, taking her lollipop out of her mouth.

"I, uh..." Rancis took a deep breath. "Was...wondering if you...wanted to...go out...to dinner...tonight?" He cringed.

"Sure, sounds like fun." Taffyta smiled.

Rancis let out a sigh of relief.

"Great..." He now smiled, both relieved and surprised. "Uh. where would you like to go?"

"How about Gummi's Burgers? I haven't been there in a few weeks." Taffyta suggested.

"That's perfect, I haven't been there in a while either." Rancis now grinned. "I'll meet you in front around six?"

"Six works for me." Taffyta nodded.

"Okay, see you tonight!" Rancis waved as he ran off.

Taffyta waved back, shut the door...and then leapt into the air with delight.

"He finally asked!" She said happily to herself.

Yeah, it turns out Taffyta has liked Rancis back this whole time. She even knew about Rancis's feelings for her - he wasn't that good at hiding them - but didn't know about one detail in particular: his fear about asking her out. She had just thought that he wasn't ready yet. This of course was why she never said anything to him before, she was waiting for him to be ready.

Anyway, after managing to compose herself Taffyta opened the door again and headed for her kart. She couldn't wait to tell Vanellope and Candlehead the exciting news!

Meanwhile, Rancis stopped running once he was out of sight and leaned against a tree, letting his heart calm down.

"She said yes...she actually said yes!" He said to himself happily. "I can't believe it...I have a date with Taffyta! Oh programmer what should I wear...well it's a fast food place so nothing fancy but I still want to look nice...eh, I'll just stick with my usual outfit, Taffyta probably will too anyway. And should I tell her my feelings during dinner or before we head home...maybe before we head home, telling her can be based on how well things go during dinner..."

"So, you did it."

Rancis turned and saw Vanellope smirking at him.

"Yeah I did it. I told you I would ask Taffyta out and I did!" Rancis retorted. "I showed you didn't I?"

"You sure did." Vanellope said with friendly sarcasm. "Maybe you're not a coward after all."

"What do you mean 'maybe'?" Rancis glared.

Unfortunately, Taffyta had seen Vanellope and had overheard everything. Hurt and angry, she drove off.

"Way to go Rancis, I knew you could do it." Vanellope chuckled.

Rancis softened as he realized something.

"Hold on a...you were just joking about that coward stuff weren't you?" He guessed.

"Reverse psychology." Vanellope shrugged, still grinning.

Rancis actually laughed.

"Well, you sure fooled me." He grinned back. "Thanks Vanellope."

"No problem, I like the idea of you and Taffyta ending up together anyway." Vanellope smiled. "Now about telling Taffyta your feelings...just go with what you feel. When the time comes you'll know."

"Okay." Rancis nodded.

That night, Rancis waited for Taffyta outside Gummi's Burgers with a rose in his hand. He smelled it happily, and then hid it in his jacket. He was planning to give it to her as he admitted his feelings.

It was six and no sign of Taffyta. Rancis just shrugged, people didn't always arrive on the dot. More time passed...when it got past 6:30 he started to grow nervous. Gradually nervous turned into worry.

It wasn't until closing time, 9:00, that Rancis gave up. He sadly headed home, wondering why Taffyta hadn't shown up. Various reasons and excuses went through his head.

Then, when he got home, one thought came to him and he ended up believing it.

"She must've only agreed to go to dinner with me out of pity, but then regretted it and changed her mind." Rancis said to himself sadly as he took the rose out of his jacket. "She...she doesn't love me."

He sadly dropped the rose onto the ground, and ran inside and upstairs into his bedroom. He then stopped and clutched his chest. Tears in his eyes, Rancis tossed his hat and jacket aside and collapsed onto his bed, crying heartbrokenly.

Mr. and Mrs. Fluggerbutter, who had stayed up waiting for him, knew that something was wrong the moment he ran inside. They followed him into his bedroom and saw him crying on his bed.

"Son!" Mrs. Fluggerbutter gasped, rushing to his side. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Rancis just continued crying. His parents looked at each other concerned: normally when they asked him what was wrong he told them.

"This is serious." Mr. Fluggerbutter said worriedly. "Hey Kernel, are you going to tell us what's the matter?" He asked concernedly.

Rancis didn't even acknowledge their being there.

"I guess we'll have to wait until morning to get an answer." Mr. Fluggerbutter sighed, still concerned but not knowing what else to do.

"Poor thing...whatever happened must've been horrible." Mrs. Fluggerbutter massaged Rancis's back.

After a few minutes they took Rancis's shoes off and pulled the covers over him. They then left Rancis's bedroom and turned out the light, agreeing to check on him in the morning the moment they woke up.

The next day they did. Rancis looked horrible, and apparently had been crying for a good portion of the night before he finally fell asleep.

"Rancis?" Mrs. Fluggerbutter rubbed his forehead gently. "Honey, come on, wake up."

Rancis groaned slightly and weakly opened his eyes.

"What happened yesterday Kernel?" Mr. Fluggerbutter asked concernedly.

"Taffyta stood me up last night." Rancis whispered miserably.

"Oh now, something just probably came up." Mrs. Fluggerbutter said comfortingly.

"No...she doesn't love me." Rancis winced. "She only agreed to dinner out of pity."

Mr. and Mrs. Fluggerbutter looked at each other worriedly. They both realized that Rancis's heart had broken.

And it was broken, very broken. It was so broken that Rancis couldn't even get out of bed and barely ate at all. Mrs. Fluggerbutter did feed him soup, but otherwise she felt hopeless. Both she and Mr. Fluggerbutter knew how much Rancis loved Taffyta, and so didn't know how to heal his heart. They did think of talking to Taffyta, but they couldn't. The arcade was already open and players were at Sugar Rush constantly.

And speaking of Taffyta, she was still hurting even as she entered the racetrack. Instantly Vanellope knew something bad had happened: Taffyta didn't greet her at all. Instead she only glared at her before getting into her kart. Vanellope couldn't figure out what went wrong, so she decided to wait until after the arcade closed to confront Taffyta.

Things were worse on the track. Whenever Taffyta wasn't being played she'd try to make Vanellope crash. Vanellope's glitching prevented it from happening but there still were some close calls.

Finally the arcade closed. Taffyta started to leave...

"Taffyta wait!" Vanellope ran to her.

"I don't want to talk to you!" Taffyta snapped.

Vanellope dropped her mouth open. The other Racers and citizens also were very shocked. Candiel dropped the microphone he had been holding. Vanellope then frowned.

"As your president I order you to stop!" She snapped back.

Taffyta couldn't fight that. She knew that even if she did Vanellope would just have Duncan and Wynchel or at least a couple of the Racers stop her anyway.

"What the horseradish is wrong with you?" Vanellope asked. "I didn't do anything to you so-"

"But you did treat Rancis badly yesterday!" Taffyta snapped back.

Vanellope now got it.

"You overheard...oh Taffyta I wasn't really teasing Rancis." Vanellope said regretfully.

"What?" Taffyta turned around with disbelief.

"He...he was scared to ask you out." Vanellope admitted; she hated to embarrass Rancis liked this but knew that things had to be straightened out. "I tried building up his self-esteem, but it didn't work so I resorted to reverse psychology instead. That did work."

Taffyta looked at Vanellope surprised...and maybe a little regretful.

"He was scared to ask me out?" She couldn't believe it. "I thought he just wasn't ready."

"No, he felt that he wasn't good enough for you." Vanellope shook her head.

Taffyta now looked close to horrified.

"Oh no...when I overheard you two I thought he only asked me out to show you that he could." She said. "So I..."

"You stood him up...no wonder he didn't show up today." Vanellope realized.

"I'm sorry Vanellope, I should've talked to you before..."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too, I didn't mean for all this to happen. I just wanted to see you two happy together."

"Rancis obviously isn't happy...I've got to go see him." Taffyta ran for Rancis's house.

She reached the door of his house and rang the doorbell. She instantly heard barking.

"Reese back off!" Mr. Fluggerbutter's voice called out. "Down boy!"

The door then opened, revealing Mr. Fluggerbutter.

"Taffyta?" He looked surprised.

A German Shepherd then zoomed pass Mr. Fluggerbutter and leapt on Taffyta, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey!" She laughed as the German Shepherd started licking her face.

"Reese!" Mr. Fluggerbutter said with annoyance as he dragged the German Shepherd off. "Sorry about that, normally he's only like that towards Rancis and my wife and I. What brings you here?"

"I'm here to explain to Rancis why I stood him up last night." Taffyta got up, wiping her face.

"Ah good, we were actually planning on bringing you here to talk to Rancis." Mr. Fluggerbutter said with relief. "I'll take you to his room."

They went upstairs and into Rancis's room. Taffyta put a hand to her mouth upon seeing how horrible he looked.

"Rancis!" She gasped, running to his side.

Startled and confused, Rancis slowly opened an eye. He then opened the other eye with disbelief.

"Taffyta?" He said weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm so sorry about last night, I overheard Vanellope teasing you yesterday and I thought you only asked me out to show her that you could." Taffyta took his hand in hers. "Vanellope just explained to me what was really going on...I had no idea that you were scared to ask me out."

Rancis obviously was a bit annoyed that Vanellope blabbed, but he quickly forgave her due to knowing why she did.

"I was scared...terrified even. I thought you'd never agree to go out with me because I'm not good enough for you." He said.

"As Calhoun would say: that is bull-roar." Taffyta frowned. "Of course you're good enough for me. I only never asked you out because I just thought you weren't ready yet."

"What?" Rancis widened his eyes. "You mean you would've asked me out if...?"

"Yes, because..." Taffyta blushed a little. "Because I love you."

Rancis dropped his mouth open.

"You...you love me?" He sat up. "I don't believe it...why would you love someone like me?"

"Because you're kind, loyal...not to mention you know how to show off your good looks with style." Taffyta blushed a bit stronger. "Everytime you do one of those poses, like pump a fist into the air, I feel my heart skip a beat."

Rancis didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I still can't believe it..." He smiled.

Taffyta frowned with annoyance and pulled him closer to her. She then gave him a deep kiss. Rancis froze with shock, thinking that he was dreaming at first. But then he felt a slight pain in his chest as his heart healed. His heart started to beat faster, and he smiled and closed his eyes. He returned the kiss, catching Taffyta off-guard for a moment before she relaxed and smiled. 8-bit hearts started to surround them, and they both wrapped their arms around each other and kissed for a few minutes before pulling away for air.

"Do you believe it now?" Taffyta smirked playfully.

"I sure do...that was better than any kiss I could dream up." Rancis sighed with love.

"So...how about we go to Gummi's Burgers together now? To make up for last night?" Taffyta flirted.

Rancis blushed.

"I'd love that...but not as much as I love you." He smiled.

They hugged. Reese then bounded into the room and leapt on the bed. He licked both Rancis and Taffyta.

"Hey Reese get off!" Rancis laughed.

"He really likes me." Taffyta giggled.

"Yeah...because I trained him to." Rancis rubbed the back of his head. "I wanted to make sure that he'd get along with you in case...well, you know."

Taffyta smiled.

"I did the same thing with my cat Arrow." She admitted. "Guess great minds think alike."

"Yeah." Rancis blushed again.

Feeling a lot better, Rancis got out of bed, fixed himself up, and he and Taffyta went outside. Before they left Rancis picked up the rose he had dropped the previous night.

"I was planning to give this to you as I admitted my feelings to you." He explained, giving her the rose. "Even though you already know about my feelings I still have to tell you: I love you. In fact...I love you more than my own life."

Taffyta kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you more than my own life too." She smiled.

Now that their feelings were out in the open they could enjoy themselves without any tension. They ended up having a great time on their first date, and when they kissed each other at the end of it they felt as if they had become one.


End file.
